STEVE CAMPBELL, Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle |
November 5, 2010

UH wide receiver James Cleveland dropped a costly fumble in last season's loss to UCF.

One. Moment. At. A. Time.

One. Play.

One practice. One day. One game.

The Houston Cougars are trying to abide by the unrelenting teachings of head coach Kevin Sumlin. They're trying to tend to the small details rather than soak in the big picture. They're trying mightily to overcome human nature, to develop a tunnel vision for the task at hand.

The task, after all, is formidable. To preserve their claim as the best in the Conference USA West, the Cougars must conquer the beasts from the East. The Central Florida Knights arrive at Robertson Stadium for today's 7 p.m. encounter as the owners of a 10-game C-USA winning streak. The Cougars are back after a three-game road trip of self-rediscovery.

"We try not to get all caught up in it," UH cornerback Jamal Robinson said. "But around the complex, you can feel it. Everybody is uptight, ready, a bunch of energy. I guess it's from what's at stake this week, knowing what we've got to do."

Ready for 'a brawl'

The game will be televised on ESPN2, and at the end of business hours Thursday UH was 400 tickets away from its fifth sellout of the season. The winner has the inside track on hosting the Dec. 4 C-USA title game. Adding to the allure for the Cougars is the prospect of retribution for a 37-32 defeat at UCF last November.

"It's decorated perfect," UH receiver James Cleveland said. "It'll be a brawl. I'm anxious to see. It's my team, but I know something great is going to happen from somebody. I'm just going to wait and see who it's going to be."

The Knights (6-2, 4-0 C-USA) are ninth in the nation in total defense (279.9 yards per game). The Cougars (5-3, 4-1) have regrouped from a season-ending knee injury to quarterback Case Keenum and rank eighth in scoring (41.6). Sumlin is counting on his defense — ranked 98th out of 120 teams against run - to stand up to a methodical UCF attack operated by freshman Jeff Godfrey. The Knights are 22nd in rushing (199.9), 11th in third-down efficiency (51.0 percent) and fourth in time of possession (33:43).

"There's no doubt how they're going to approach the game and how we want to approach the game," Sumlin said. "If you go back and look at last year's game, it was a heck of game. The score was a lot closer than maybe the game felt."

With UH leading 10-0 in the first quarter, running back Bryce Beall lost a fumble at the UCF 10. On the next UH offensive snap, Cleveland lost a fumble at the UCF 20. The Knights regrouped, thus beginning the UH fall from No. 12 in the rankings.

Swagger of a college kid

"It was embarrassing last season," Cleveland said. "We really should have pounced on them. But we let 'em in the game, let 'em have that last life, that last beat in their hearts. And they did what good teams do: They persevered, battled through adversity, and they overcame us."

When last seen at Robertson Stadium, the Cougars had some heaping helpings of embarrassment. They allowed 409 rushing yards in a 47-24 thrashing by Mississippi State that ended a school-record 18-game home winning streak. Making his first college start, freshman David Piland completed 30 of 57 passes for 301 yards and two interceptions. Piland has completed 62 percent of his attempts for 807 yards in three starts since then, with nine touchdowns and only one interception.

"I know we are a better team than we were four weeks ago," Sumlin said. "We're more settled at quarterback. David has become more comfortable, and our team has become more comfortable with David."

UH whacked SMU and Memphis by a combined 64 points the last two Saturdays. The Cougars rushed for 452 yards and passed for 505 in the process, showing the sort of balance that eluded them in last year's loss at UCF (16 runs, 57 passes).

"Basically, it just gave us our swagger back," UH receiver Tyron Carrier said. "We feel confident in what we're doing right now. Everybody is doing their job."

At last, the one day has arrived when the Cougars can put all their preparations - and bottled up energy - for UCF to use.